Pricing Your Event…
Judi and I have been debating lately about the pros and cons of festival and event pricing. There are two thoughts. The first is to include all activities in the admission price, while the other is to price activities separately. This would allow visitors to pick and chose what they want to participate in. So, here are some of the pros and cons we thought of. I am sure that there are more. Please let us know what you think.
1. One Fee Admission
Pros
• Visitors know exactly what they are getting and at what cost
• Festival organizers don’t have to worry about which events will earn enough money to pay for themselves
• Festivals can experiment with new or innovative festival activities and events
• Festival accounting would be easier to manage with a single fee
• Fewer volunteers would be needed to collect money

Cons
• The higher cost of a single fee might discourage some people from attending event
• Some visitors may resent paying for festival events and activities they have no interest in
• Might reduce the amount of potential income, especially if there are a number of popular festival activities and events to chose from

2. Individual Fee Pricing
Pros
• Might encourage more people to attend, especially young families
• Allows people to chose what they want to see or participate in
• Acts as a “survey” for festivals to determine which festival activities and events their “customers” are interested in
• May be easier to attract event sponsors for specific festival activities or events

Cons
• Difficult to manage and account monies
• More volunteers needed for admission sales
• Festival organizers may not be willing to take a chance on new festival activities or events
• Visitors may resent being “nickeled and dimed”
• Possibility of visitor not bringing enough “cash” and then being limited to the number of festival events and activities they are able to participate in

I guess, in the long run, you have to know who your customers are and what and how they are willing to pay. Perhaps the best idea is to have a combination of both pricing plans. That is, keep the main admission price low but charge extra for the more costly festival activities and events. The ultimate solution is to have the expensive events paid for by sponsors. Not an easy task in these economic times!